Red Sox Splits With Runner on Second Base Prove There Was Something Fishy About 2018 Season

Once again, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred is under scrutiny for giving a slap on the wrist to a team accused of cheating. The Boston Red Sox were long suspected of stealing signs in 2018, but they were only docked a second-round draft pick, while full blame was placed on video replay operator JT Watkins. Even if manager Alex Cora and the Red Sox players were cleared of any wrongdoing, statistics prove that something fishy was going on that season, and that relaying mid-game signal changes to players with a runner on second...clearly benefited Boston to the point of being scorned a little further.

When looking at the 2018 Red Sox collective batting average with a runner on second base, there's a staggering 30-point difference from their average with no one on second. If those contrasting numbers weren't enough, just look at how the New York Yankees, Oakland Athletics, and Cleveland Indians performed that year in similar situations.

Something's off here. Really off.

When a runner is on second base, it's a given that they'll relay the upcoming pitch to their teammate in the batter's box. Every team does it. But the human eye of nine-plus players aren't going to result in a 30-point increase in hitting production. It's just not possible. Clearly, these updated scouting reports, obtained illicitly, did Boston a world of good.

Manfred's penalty to the Red Sox was confusing, to say the least. His investigative report indicated that he issued a warning to Boston after the 2017 Apple Watch incident, and if they were to do anything similar to that again, they'd receive a stiff punishment. However, that never came to be, as the commissioner decided that Watkins went rogue underneath the Red Sox noses, and that he should receive a solo ban. Thus, Boston was officially off the hook. Got it.

It goes to show that cheating is permitted as long as Manfred is in charge of MLB. Sad, but true.